The Prime of Your Life
by AbhainnGealach
Summary: A strange girl gets pulled through the Rift & deposited outside Thames House. Torchwood come for her & Harry decides to help the girl. Meanwhile, Adam is assigned to investigate the mysterious suicide of a man who tried to pass a message to Ruth that leads to the cover-up of a prison fire by Oliver Mace to frame Harry. Reviews most welcome :) Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own The Tower and the Hive, Torchwood or Spooks (MI-5)**

**A/N: **The character of Aisling Flynn is an AC based from The Tower and the Hive books. The story takes place after series 2 of Torchwood, but before series 3 (Children of Earth). The story takes place in Spooks series 5 episode 5 with the events taking place at the start of the story altering Ruth's participation at the beginning of what becomes the investigation into of Maudsley and the Cotterdam fire.

**The Prime of Your Life**

**Chapter 1**

**/\**Earth, Blundell Building, FT&T Headquarters**/\**

Aisling Flynn stepped from her personal carrier and looked around. This place was huge! She'd read descriptions and seen holos, but nothing, _nothing_ had prepared her for the immensity of the Blundell Building-FT&T's headquarters here on Earth. Earth! She was actually on Earth! She could hardly believe her luck. Only two weeks ago her mother Morag and her grandmother Damia had given her the news. The current Earth Prime, Jeff Raven wanted to finally retire.

Since Damia's children all had choice Prime Towers throughout the colonies and the naval fleet, Earth's Prime, The Raven, as he liked to be called, chose to pick his possible successor from the great grandchildren. He'd chosen three of them to come to Earth at various times for their final Tower training and to see how they might mesh with the support team. Once training was accomplished, Jeff and his wife, The Rowan, would retire to Deneb and help find and train up bright young Talents from the prolific Raven clan. Aisling couldn't believe her luck she was one of the three. She quickly snatched up her carisacks and headed for the entrance of the Prime's headquarters where her escort waited.

"Good morning ma'am, er, Prime, ma'am um..." the young man trailed off.

Aisling gave him a small smile and handed him her bags. "Hello, yes, I'm Prime Aisling Flynn, thank you." She continued in a slightly lower voice. "Please, don't call me ma'am."

"Right, okay, um, I'm T-3 Ryan Baker and I'll be showing you to your quarters and to your meeting with Earth Prime. Right this way, please." He opened the door and gestured her to precede him.

Aisling ran a quick hand through her mane of dark hair, grateful once again that she'd been one of the few grandchildren whom had inherited the distinctive Raven-Lyon silver streak in her hair. As a Prime, she was of course accorded a certain amount of respect, but her youth often offset the advantage of her status. The silver streak in her hair often made people think her older than her 22 years and caused them to give more weight to her opinion than they otherwise might.

She gazed, wide-eyed, at the beautifully appointed building that was Earth Prime's Tower. She clenched her hands at her sides and clenched her jaw to keep herself from gawking like an idiot. She and her escort finally reached the "private quarters" section and stopped before one of the doors. He quickly keyed the door and then indicated the pad next to the door. Aisling quickly stripped off one of her gloves and placed her palm on the pad to open the door. He led her inside and placed her carisacks on the table near the door. He stood quietly and waited while she stood gaping at her quarters. Huge, beautiful and all for her! She managed to close her mouth and looked at her escort.

He gave her a quick smile. "Earth Prime is ready for your meeting, if you are."

"Yes, I'm ready." She gave one last glance at the rich furnishings and followed him from the room. She was getting a bit tired of all the walking and risked a quick glance at his public mind. She gave a small sigh of relief that the meeting room they were going to was just around the corner. He stopped at a set of double doors, gave her a small bow and smile and walked away. Aisling looked at the large doors, squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and palmed the door pad.

"Aisling, granddaughter, you look lovely," Jeff Raven said as he turned from the window. '_I'm not __calling you great-granddaughter, it makes me feel old',_ he sent to her privately.

"You are not old," she scolded with a smile as Jeff hugged her.

He handed her a drink and gestured for her to sit. She sat in the proffered chair as he perched on the corner of the table. "Now, you start training first thing next week," he raised his hand to forestall her objections as he saw her open her mouth, "hear me out."

She closed her mouth and waited for him to continue.

"I want you to take this week and travel around a bit, become familiar with the planet and the support towers. I want you to meet face to face with the T-2's and T-3's that head up our other towers. Earth Tower is the heart and head of Federated Telepath and Teleport. As such, you need to get to know the people you will be working with as Earth's Prime. Besides, I think you'll enjoy something of a holiday before you get to work, because you will work...hard. Your grandmother trained you well in shifting cargo on Aurigae. Your time on Clarf with your aunt Laria has made you familiar more than most with our Mrdini allies, despite the fact you weren't raised with a Dini pair. Being Earth Prime is more than that. You will go through intensive training on every aspect of FT&T's structure. You will have to learn the laws and diplomacy. I also suggest you take a visit up to Heinlein Base and see the Hiver Queen. Progress is slow but sure on pacifying the Hiver occupied worlds we find with that pheromone mixture your so-clever uncles came up with. However, space is big and the species is still worth studying and understanding."

She nodded her agreement.

"Now," he clapped his hands together and grinned at her. "How about dinner?"

"I'm starving," she replied, grinning back at him.

"We'll go to my favorite place," he said and offered his arm. She took it and he teleported them to the restaurant.

Early the next morning she began what she thought of as "The Grand Tour". Over the next several days she visited every FT&T installation on Earth. It was fun and it was exhausting, person after person to remember and complex after complex. She blessed her eidetic memory, part and parcel of being a telepath, but feared her head would explode with so much input. She noted places she fully intended to visit again on holidays and arrived back at Earth Prime Tower late Friday evening, tired but happy. She collapsed on the huge bed in her quarters and dropped straight into sleep with only the briefest of wishes for 'Dini dreams to help her process the wealth of information she'd acquired.

Saturday morning she awoke early and breakfasted with her great-grandfather before leaving for the moon and her visit to Heinlein Base. T-3 Blake escorted her out to her personal carrier and with a quick telepathic clearance from Earth Prime; she quickly and efficiently leaned into a quick gestalt with the Tower's generators and lifted her carrier to the moon.

She enjoyed a quick tour of the facilities and then joined most of the staff for lunch. After, she visited the enclave where the Hiver Queen was housed. Aisling shuddered at the sight of the huge, insectiod creature even while having to marvel at the Queen's beautiful coloring. The famous Rowan/Raven mind merge that had saved Jeff Raven's home planet of Deneb from a Hiver incursion so many years ago filled her with a sense of family pride. The two of them had been the focus for the merge of every Talented mind in human occupied space. The Rowan merge to destroy the minds of the Hiver Queens on the Leviathan and the Raven merge to shove the Leviathan into Deneb's primary, ending the threat and saving Deneb from the destructive methods of Hiver colonization.

She wandered back to the administration enclave slowly, gazing up at the stars in wonder. She loved looking at the stars, comparing the starscape here to the others she'd seen at home on Iota Aurigae and on Clarf. Her internal alarm told her it was time to head back to the Tower and she flashed a quick thought to her great-grandfather to let him know she was preparing to leave.

She bid a quick farewell to the base staff she'd met and walked out to her carrier. She climbed in and settled herself and sent another thought to Earth Prime for clearance. As she tapped into the generators and lifted, a thought occurred to her.

'_Great-Grandfather?'_ she sent.

_Yes?_

'_Would you mind terribly if I made a quick orbit of the moon, the earth and the stars look so lovely from here...'_ she trailed off.

He chuckled. '_Yes, yes of course. We'll leave your carrier's cradle clear and I'll make sure you have a window when you've finished your stargazing.'_

'_Thank you.'_

'_Dinner in one hour_,' he teased and she felt a quick telekinetic kiss on her forehead.

She quickly shifted herself into a wide, stable orbit. A wave of her hand opened the large viewport. She settled herself more comfortably in her seat and enjoyed the view as she drifted. As her orbit took her around to the dark side of the moon, she caught a glimpse of a strange light far off to port. She shifted the carrier until she was facing the direction and leaned forward in fascination. The large ribbon of light wavered and shifted, shimmering in gold, green, red, blue and purple. She'd had a chance to see the Aurora Borealis on her tour of the FT&T facilities and this phenomenon reminded her strongly of it.

'_Great-grandfather, look at this,'_ she sent quickly. She felt him take her offered "hand" and merge with her.

'_What the hell is that?'_

'_I don't know. It reminds me of the aurora, don't you think?'_

'_Yes, as a matter of fact. Strange. Heinlein Base is sending out a scout to investigate. The scanners on the base can't really pick up anything at this angle. I want you to come back now. You'll want time to get ready for the Staff dinner and the scout has arrived at your position. They'll relay any information on to the Tower.'_

'_Just a little longer, please,'_ she begged. '_I don't need much time at all to get ready and I want to see.'_

He sighed and she sensed he was giving in. She could barely contain her excitement.

'_All right, but I'll be keeping my mind on you. Any sign of any trouble and I'll pull you out. Deal?'_

'_Deal.'_

'_I'm getting to old for this,'_ he grumbled.

'_Callisto Prime Rowan to Earth Prime Raven, what is going on out there? Everyone is going crazy over lights in the sky. We're in perfect position to see all this nonsense apparently and nobody seems to be able to shut up.'_

Aisling smothered a laugh at the annoyance threaded through her great-grandmother's thought. She gasped as the Rowan's aggravation focused on her.

'_Prime Aisling Lyon-Flynn, exactly what the bloody hell do you think you're doing out there?'_

'_I just wanted to look at the stars and spotted it when I came around to the dark side of the moon. It's __beautiful. I'm not staying long; I just want to watch a bit longer.'_

'_See that you don't, young lady. I do hope this doesn't mean you're going to start taking after your grandmother Damia's reckless behavior.'_

'_No, great-grandmother, I promise.' _

'_I've got my mind on her, Rowan, she'll be back on Earth at the slightest sign of trouble,'_ Jeff Raven explained to his temperamental wife.

'_I should hope so. I don't think I have the strength to go through another generation of this.'_

Aisling "felt" him pat his wife's cheek fondly and smiled. She suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Why was the scout backing away?

'_Great-grandfather, where is the scout going?'_ she asked in confusion.

'_What do you mean? They're holding position and scanning...'_ he broke off a moment and then surged back into her mind so quickly she nearly reeled.

'_Aisling, stop!'_

'_What do you mean stop? I'm not doing anything!' _

'_You're moving towards it, now get back here.'_

Aisling felt a frisson of fear down her spine. '_I'm not moving myself, I swear!'_

'_Rowan, merge with me quick. Message from the scout says somehow she's being pulled towards that thing. We have to stop it.'_

Rowan quickly merged with her husband to grab Aisling's carrier, but somehow it eluded their grasp.

Aisling felt the beginnings of panic and began to breathe deeply to focus past it. Her great-grandfather's mental "hand" suddenly slipped from hers.

'_Great-grandfather, I can't stop it. Help!'_

'_We're trying,'_ the Rowan-Raven merge replied, sounding far away. '_Something's interfering, we having trouble grabbing hold.'_

'_What? I can barely hear you. I can't feel your minds!'_ She felt the panic again and fought to keep it from overcoming her.

'_The scout says it has never seen anything like it before. The energy readings are off the scale and completely unknown. It's causing massive interference with our abilities,'_ Rowan wailed

'_Try again!'_ Raven commanded.

The Rowan-Raven merge reached again, and again the carrier slipped away.

'_Help me!'_ Aisling sobbed in her mind and aloud as the lights drew nearer and began to enfold her.

'_Aisling!'_ Rowan-Raven cried in despair as the little carrier was swallowed into the lights and vanished.

**\/**Cardiff, Torchwood Hub**\/**

Klaxons wailed and red lights flashed throughout the underground complex that was Torchwood headquarters.

"Gwen, Ianto, what the hell is going on out here?" Captain Jack Harkness bellowed at his team as he slammed out of his office.

"Don't know, rift energy suddenly started spiking off the scale," Gwen yelled back as she tried to type on the rift monitor's keyboard and keep herself from falling to the floor with the other.

Ianto was working feverishly at another console, also trying to brace himself against the shaking. "Readings are all over the place, the rift is going mad," Ianto called over.

Jack whipped around as best he was able and pulled himself up the stairs and outside. He held tight to the wall and looked around. Panicked people were screaming and trying to run for safety as the whole of Cardiff shook in the quake. Jack's gaze moved to the rift in surprise as he saw it visible, blazing in a silver ribbon across the plaza. It flashed and sparked in such a way that Jack began to be afraid. It would tear the city and more apart and how could they stop it? How long would they have before their headquarters fell apart? Damn, damn, damn! Where was the Doctor when you needed him?

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. The light vanished and the ground was still. Dust hung in a cloud stained red-orange by the just-setting sun. Jack heaved a great breath and watched the confused masses begin to pick themselves up and look around in shock; uncertain if the nightmare was really over. Jack brushed dirt from his greatcoat and stalked back down to the Hub, breathing heavily. A quick flick of his hand on a console and the alarms cut off. Gwen and Ianto stood in a daze, looking at him. He saw fear and relief playing across their faces and grabbed a bottle of scotch as he headed down. They all took a large swig from the bottle and looked at each other.

"I've never seen anything like that, Jack. That spike flared up so fast, there was absolutely no warning," Gwen gasped.

"One minute all quiet and calm and the next, fwoop," Ianto agreed. Jack raised an eyebrow at Ianto's choice of word, but let it go.

"Fine, okay, let's analyze the data, but first, did anything come through?"

Gwen and Ianto opened their mouths, looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well find out!" Jack ordered and his team hurried to work. Jack rubbed his face with his hands, took another drink from the bottle and sighed. It was going to be one of those days.

**/\**London, Thames House**/\**

"...Cardiff was wracked by a terrifying earthquake just a few minutes ago. Police and rescue crews are working hard to find injured citizens and helping clear up the damage which is currently estimated to be hundreds of thousands of pounds. At this point, no fatalities have been found. Scientists are estimating the quake was somewhere around 8 on the Richter scale with ripples of smaller tremors being felt throughout a large portion of northern Wales and western England. A large number of eyewitnesses in Cardiff have reported seeing a strange ribbon-like wall of flashing silver light during the quake, but whether this is fact or some sort of hallucination brought on by panic and hysteria at the epicenter of the quake is not yet known..."

Ruth and Malcolm looked from the TV screen to each other in shock.

"Bloody Nora," Malcolm breathed and Ruth nodded agreement.

The phone rang, startling the both of them.

Ruth grabbed the phone and answered. "Yes?"

"Could somebody come help me please? There seems to be a naked girl lying unconscious on our doorstep," Adam's voice replied.

"What?"

"Just…come help, okay?" He hung up. Malcolm looked at her expectantly.

"Um, that was Adam. He needs help. He says there's a naked girl lying unconscious on our doorstep."

Malcolm's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he stood and followed Ruth out to help Adam.

Adam had draped his jacket over the girl and was waiting patiently as the two arrived.

"Adam, why haven't you just called an ambulance?" Ruth asked in mild exasperation.

He gestured to the two to kneel down with him. After a quick glance at each other, they complied.

"I think we should take her inside and talk to Harry about it."

"Why?" Malcolm wanted to know.

"Look, when I was walking back here tonight I was approaching from that direction," Adam pointed to his left. "There was nothing here. And then, I saw this bizarre silver light flash by," he waved his hand from right to left to demonstrate, "and then there she was. And look at this..." he tucked his jacket around the girl more tightly, lifted her slightly off the pavement and jerked his head at Ruth and Malcolm to look.

"Oh my god," Ruth gasped as she looked. She ran shaking fingers over the cracks and indentations in the pavement under the girl's body. "It looks like she hit at high impact and high speed." Ruth looked back up at Adam in amazement. He nodded.

"But there's not a mark on her," Malcolm commented as he glanced at the girl's unblemished skin. He took the girl's wrist in his hand. "She's alive."

"So, she's not going to the hospital. We're taking her inside and talking to Harry," Adam said with a tone of finality.

Malcolm shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the girl as well as Ruth went and pulled open the door to Thames House.

"Looks like it's going to be one of those days," Malcolm muttered. Adam nodded in agreement as he carried the girl inside.

Once through the pods, Adam went to the right down a hallway to lay the girl on a couch, Malcolm close behind. Ruth spotted Jo and Zaf and strode purposefully towards them.

"Right, Jo, Zaf, need your help. Adam's found a girl outside, she's unconscious and she might be injured, we're not quite sure. Jo, the poor thing hasn't got a stitch on, see if you can find something we can dress her in. Zaf," Ruth paused and spied Ros across the room, "come with me."

Zaf followed Ruth over to where Ros sat at a computer terminal.

"Hi, Ros, look we need help. You have some basic medical training so can you take Zaf and find any medical supplies we have and take them over there?" Ruth pointed in the direction of the hallway down which Adam and Malcolm had disappeared.

Ros looked at Ruth questioningly but nodded and got up to search for the supplies. Ruth went and grabbed some bottles of water.

Harry gazed out his office window, a frown creasing his face as he watched the team scrambling around. He sighed, slapped his hands on his desk and stood up. He walked out of his office and stood, observing the bustle.

"Will somebody tell me just what the hell you think you're doing?" he roared.

Jo, Zaf and Ros, their arms already full of the items Ruth had requested, stopped and as one turned to Ruth, who looked at each of them, sighed, dropped her head, and then approached Harry.

"Er...well, Harry," Ruth began hesitantly.

"Yes?" Harry encouraged as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Adam called a few minutes ago, he'd found a girl," Ruth continued.

"Well, let's call a press conference then, shall we?" he commented acidly.

"No, sorry, not...not like that," Ruth stammered. "He found a girl lying in front of Thames House, naked and unconscious."

"And has he called an ambulance?"

"Uh, no, we brought her inside."

"What the devil for? Ruth, we are not MI-5 stroke medical center," he snapped.

"It's just, there is something strange about this girl, we don't know what, but Adam wants to find out," Ruth said as she touched Harry's arm to have him follow her to where she and Malcolm had been watching the news about the earthquake. Special reports were still broadcasting.

"You saw what happened in Cardiff?" Ruth asked, indicating the news report.

"Yes, yes, very sad business," Harry answered quietly, "but what exactly does that have to do with what is going on?"

"Well, a lot of eyewitnesses are saying they saw this sort of silver wall of light cutting through Cardiff during the quake. Adam said he was coming back here and he saw something very similar flash by in front of the building and then the girl was just there. She's naked and unconscious, but so far as we can tell she's alive and maybe uninjured. But the ground beneath her Harry, it was cracked and indented just underneath her body as if she'd hit at high speed. Adam might be able to tell you more, I don't know."

Harry gazed steadily at Ruth and finally sighed. "I assume you're getting things organized?"

"Yes, Jo is finding some clothes and Ros and Zaf are getting the medical supplies. I've got some water and fruit."

Harry gave Ruth a small smile and Ruth relaxed in relief. "Show me."

"Look, I realize that as a man you seem to need every chance you can get to leer at a naked woman, but I want you out of here so I can examine her," Ros snarled at Adam as Harry and Ruth approached.

"It's nothing to do with that. I'm not leaving her," Adam countered quietly, his hand tightening around the girl's small, fine-boned hand. He looked back down at her face and started stroking her forehead again.

"Everyone out, now, please," Harry said calmly. Adam looked up and frowned, unwilling to move from the girl's side. "Please," Harry said again. "Ruth, you stay here with Ros and help check over our guest's condition. Adam, I want you and Zaf to go outside and see if you can find any more clues as to how she ended up here. Jo, Malcolm, I want you two to go over every single news report you can find of people talking about this wall of silver light," he paused as they all looked at him. "Move!"

They dispersed to their various tasks and Ruth looked at Harry. "What are you going to do?" she asked curiously.

"I'm going to have a drink," he growled and stormed back to his office.

An hour later, Ruth walked into Harry's office. A bottle of his favorite single malt scotch sat on the desk and he idly toyed with an empty glass.

"What have you got?" he asked.

"We're all gathering in the meeting room just now."

Harry got up and followed Ruth to the meeting room.

"Ros, what is our guest's condition?" Harry asked as he sat at the head of the table.

"Apart from the fact that she's unconscious, I can find no other injuries. I would say that she passed out from shock and trauma brought on by some ordeal or something. We can say this, however," Ros paused and looked at Malcolm.

"She seems to be human, but there are some differences," Malcolm finished for her.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Malcolm. "What sort of differences?"

"Well, we don't have extensive medical equipment, however, Ros took some blood from the girl and it looked a bit...odd is the only way I can describe it. So I took some blood from Ros and we compared the two. There are definite and distinctive differences that anyone would notice. It's probably good that Adam didn't take her to a hospital."

"Not quite human?" Harry asked in a flat tone and sighed. "And what have we found out about this wall of light business?"

Jo stood up and went to the display of a map on the video at the front of the room.

"Malcolm and I searched every possible source of information we could find. All reports agree that the epicenter of the quake is also where the first reports of this wall of light come from."

"Cardiff," Harry interrupted. Something about Cardiff niggled at the back of his mind.

"Yes. We were able to get some satellite photos of Cardiff at the time of the quake. As you can see," she explained, pointing at the photo, "the light starts here and moves east. From the timing of the reports we found, it looks as though the light did not in fact begin moving until after the quake was over. From the reports we read through, the light traveled east from Cardiff all the way to just east of London and then it vanished, completely. 90% of the thousands of reports on this light are being discounted or ignored by authorities and that struck us as a bit strange."

"Any other reports of unusual people just turning up?" Harry asked.

"No, none."

"Right. Ruth, go make sure our guest is now dressed and comfortable, Ros I want you to go ahead and back her up in case there's any change in the girl's condition..."

"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The primal scream of terror knifed through their minds causing them all to grab their heads and cry out in agony. The scream was followed by confused images of blackness, stars and a strange aurora of lights surrounding them. The images were followed by strangled sobs that grew fainter and finally faded away.

"What the devil was that?" Harry snapped and winced.

Adam and Ruth looked at each other and immediately jumped up and ran to the girl.

Ros knelt by Zaf, who was unconscious and Jo handed around tissues to everyone to wipe away the blood that was dripping from all their noses.

When Adam and Ruth reached the room, the girl was sitting up, her entire body rigid and shivering and her eyes wide with terror and panic. Ruth reached out to the girl, but Adam put a restraining hand on her arm as he peered closely at the girl.

"Wait," he requested quietly.

The girl slowly turned her wide and blank-staring eyes toward them. Her breathing was fast and heavy and the two of them could hear a strange, whimpering, keening sound in their heads. Not as loud as the first scream, but low and anguished.

Adam took one slow step closer to the girl, his hand on Ruth's arm causing her to do the same.

"Is she...she's crying in my head," Ruth gasped and Adam nodded.

"Mine too. We have to be calm," he turned his attention back to the girl. He tried to stay calm so as not to frighten the girl, but visions of Fiona, shot and then dying in his arms began to nearly overwhelm him. This girl had the same look of terror. He fought to block the memories and stop the tears that burned his eyes.

The girl blinked. Ruth and Adam quickly glanced at each other.

"It's okay," Ruth began in a low, soothing tone, "we're here to help you."

The girl blinked again and with a strangled gasp, she collapsed back onto the couch like a puppet with cut strings, tears leaking from her eyes. Ruth carefully moved to the girl's side and knelt beside the couch, Adam followed suit. The girl's eyes flicked across their faces for a few moments and then met Ruth's concerned gaze. Ruth was startled by the depths of those eyes, but did not break eye contact. Ruth saw something change in those eyes as if a decision had been made and watched as the fear and distrust slowly faded.

"Wh-where am I?" the girl asked faintly, her voice barely a hoarse whisper.

"Thames House," Ruth answered, keeping her voice low and soothing. The girl's gaze shifted to Adam.

"M-I5 headquarters in London," Adam added, copying Ruth's low tone.

"London? This...this is Earth?"

"Yes," Adam managed to answer calmly but Ruth could see the look of surprise on his face and was sure it matched her own.

"I'm Ruth and this is Adam. Do you know who you are?"

The girl's eyes met Ruth's again. "Prime Aisling Flynn," she answered her voice a bare whisper.

"Are you thirsty? Or hungry?" Ruth asked. The girl nodded and Ruth reached for the glass of orange juice on the table by the couch. "It's orange juice," she said as she handed it to the girl.

The girl nodded and sat up, gratefully accepting the glass with a still slightly trembling hand. She drained the glass with a slight grimace and then carefully set it back on the table.

Adam stood up causing Ruth and the girl to look at him.

"I'm going to move those chairs over here, more comfortable and I'm going to tell Harry and the others to wait to come back in here. We don't want to overwhelm our guest just yet." He gave the girl a small smile and she returned it with a faint one of her own before turning her attention back to Ruth.

"How did I get here?" she asked, her voice sounding stronger now.

"Adam found you outside, unconscious. He brought you in."

The girl, 'Aisling,' Ruth reminded herself, frowned and shook her head. "I remember the lights..." Aisling trailed off, her eyes unfocused. Then her eyes snapped back into focus and she looked down at herself. Her fingers brushed the jeans and t-shirt Jo had provided and Ros had dressed her in.

"Where are my clothes?" Aisling asked in a slightly hysterical tone as she looked back at Ruth.

"You weren't wearing any when Adam found you out on the pavement," Ruth explained. Aisling's mouth dropped open and her gaze flickered to Adam as he approached with the chairs and put them down. She turned her gaze to the floor as a blush crept across her face.

"It's all right, I didn't look," Adam reassured. Aisling looked at him intently. Her face twisted briefly into a frown, she shook her head, blushed again and returned her gaze to the floor. Adam and Ruth looked at each other and shrugged.

"Do you know how you got here?" Ruth asked gently.

Aisling shook her head and brought her fingers up to massage her temples.

"Can you remember anything?" Ruth continued, trying to encourage the girl.

"I remember…" Aisling paused and sighed, "I remember the lights. They were so beautiful."

"Lights?"

"I...my head hurts."

Ruth poured some more orange juice into Aisling's glass and handed it to her. Aisling smiled thinly in appreciation. Aisling looked up and Ruth saw her start and looked back to see Harry standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Aisling, is it?" He greeted her with a kind smile. Aisling nodded. "I have to say," he continued an almost fatherly tone to his voice as he moved to sit next to her on the couch, "you have brought us no small amount of excitement, but I suppose that is the way of young girls," he finished wryly.

Aisling dropped her head and turned her eyes to peer at Harry. "I'm sorry."

"Well, for now I think you need rest and you can't stay here." Harry looked questioningly at Ruth, who stared at him a moment and then reluctantly nodded. "Ruth will take you home with her. Get some rest and talk to Ruth. If you need help of some kind we'll see what we can do. Try to remember what happened." He gave her a quick pat on the back and stood up. "Adam?"

"Be right there," Adam replied and Harry nodded and walked out. Adam took one of Aisling's hands. "Take care," he said, giving her a reassuring smile and then stood up and left.

"Can you walk?" Ruth asked, taking Aisling's hand to help her stand.

"Yes, I think so." Aisling drained the orange juice and placed the glass back down on the table.

Ruth led the girl out of Thames House and out to her car. Aisling looked around curiously.

"This is London?" she asked. Ruth furrowed her brow, but nodded.

"Yes," she said simply, though she was tempted to say more. She had to remind herself that the girl wasn't quite human. It took some doing to get her head around.

Ruth opened her car door and looked at Aisling. "Best get in," she said and Aisling turned and looked at the car a moment before opening the door and getting in.

Ruth drove them to her house, answering Aisling's occasional questions. The girl seemed content to have the window rolled down and her head stuck out the window looking around at the city. She parked in front of her house and got out of the car and Aisling quickly followed her.

"Are you hungry?" Ruth asked Aisling as she unlocked her front door.

"I am now, I wasn't before," she said and followed Ruth into the house. She spotted Ruth's cat and let out a squeal of delight and rushed over.

"Hello, gorgeous," she burbled to the cat and began to stroke it. "I love cats," she breathed.

Ruth smiled and walked into the kitchen to see what she could make for dinner. A love of cats though had put her firmly on the girl's side.

"What's your name then?" Aisling asked the cat.

"That's Fidget," Ruth supplied and walked over to join the girl. She gave her cat a quick scratch behind the ears. "I don't have much in, so we'll have to get a takeaway, is there anything you prefer?"

"Well, I'm not very picky when it comes to food," Aisling told her.

Ruth nodded. "Right then," she said and went back into the kitchen to get a selection of menus from a drawer.

As the women idly chatted over their food, Aisling began to realize that she'd been unconsciously using her Talent to set the people around her at ease and helping them to trust her. She felt a momentary pang of guilt, it was borderline misuse of Talent, but what choice did she have? The fact that they clearly didn't have Talents emerging meant she was not in the past, at least, not her own. Somehow, she was in some alternate world, and she was completely alone. She could only hope these "security service" people might be able to help her, so she pushed her guilt aside and let her low level empathy do its work.

Surely, she'd be able to figure something out.

**\/**Cardiff, Torchwood Hub**\/**

"Jack," Gwen said as she lifted her head from the monitor, wincing as her muscles protested the sudden movement. She looked around. Where was Jack? She noticed Ianto, asleep with his face on the keyboard, but there was no sign of Jack.

Gwen yawned hugely and stepped away from the computer, taking a long stretch to work out the kinks from being bent over the bloody machine all night. But it had paid off, she was sure she'd found something.

She bounded up the stairs to Jack's office, but he was nowhere to be seen. She growled in annoyance and decided she needed some coffee. She poured the last of the coffee into a mug and took a long drink. She made a face at the taste, but drained the rest of it anyway. Now, she had to find Jack.

She went to the bank of monitors that the CCTV cameras fed to and let her eyes wander over them. There he was! On the roof. She was in no mood to go out there, however, so she pulled her phone from her pocket and called Jack. She smiled as she watched him jump as the sound of his phone startled him. She watched him flip open his phone and hesitate before he finally answered.

"What?" he sighed.

"Get in here, Jack, I think I've found something."

"On my way," Jack said and snapped his phone shut.

Gwen left the monitors and went to start more coffee brewing. After what she'd found, she was sure they'd all need their wits about them. She stared at the coffee maker until she heard Jack's step behind her.

"So, what is it that you found?"

"You're not going to like it," Gwen said in a dark tone as she led him over to her computer.

"I didn't think I would," Jack retorted.

Gwen pointed at the screen and then folded her arms across her chest as she watched Jack's face.

"I mean _really_ not going to like this," Gwen warned as Jack looked at the screen, paused on an image of a man, scratch that, not just any man, an MI5 agent, carrying an unconscious girl into Thames House, followed closely by a female agent. He took in the indented and cracked pavement behind the two agents.

Jack's expression darkened. Thames House. MI5.

"Shit."


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own The Tower and the Hive, Torchwood or Spooks (MI-5)**

**Chapter 2**

"Okay," Jack snapped as he turned away from the monitor to face Gwen and Ianto. "You are absolutely certain that the Rift went that way, right in front of Thames House," he asked Gwen as he gestured briefly at the monitor.

"Yes, Jack, I'm positive," Gwen assured him. "It took most of the night for me to track the Rift on the CCTV. The Rift flashed past Thames House and when it was gone, that girl was there," she stabbed at the monitor to emphasize her point.

Ianto was leaning over the computer and studying the footage of the Rift as it passed Thames House, leaving the girl on the pavement in its wake.

"She must have come through the Rift, somehow," Ianto muttered and then straightened up. "I guess we have to go and get her then?"

"She came through the Rift, we have to," Jack stated. "I'm just not sure how we're going to handle going up against MI5."

"Forgive my stupidity, but don't we have some kind of working relationship with the security services?" Gwen wanted to know.

"I've managed to mostly avoid it, up until now, it seems. I do have a sort of favor I can call in, it might help us," Jack explained, but he didn't sound very convincing. Gwen frowned and looked at Ianto, who shrugged.

"It's no use asking me anything," Ianto said and walked away to pour himself some coffee. Gwen turned back to Jack.

"You going to explain that remark or what?"

Jack gave Gwen an exasperated look, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. Gwen let out a noise as she waved her hands in irritation before slapping them down to her sides and going back to the computer. Sometimes it was easier to get blood from a stone than get information out of Jack Harkness.

Ianto walked up and put a cup of coffee down on the desk next to her.

"I don't suppose he told you anything."

Gwen shook her head, picked up her coffee and took a sip. "No, course not, why Jack Bloody Harkness answer any bloody questions about his bloody past," Gwen snapped in a low voice.

Ianto put a calming hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't worry," he said, trying to sound comforting.

"Not worry? Ianto, someone's come through the Rift and for some bizarre, unknown reason MI5 have taken her in. How are we going to get her and take care of the situation?"

"Well, I don't know, we'll think of something, though. We always do."

"I wish Tosh and…." Gwen trailed off as the words stuck in her throat.

"I do, too, but it will be fine. You'll see," Ianto said softly. "Maybe they just think it's some girl who got attacked," he added.

Gwen looked at him, not quite believing and shrugged. "Doubtful, but anything's possible I guess."

"Right, so drink your coffee and I'll…I don't know…get things ready in case we need to go."

Gwen nodded and picked up the coffee cup. "Thanks, Ianto."

Jack sat in his office and watched Gwen and Ianto through the glass. His brow furrowed as he tapped a pen on the desk and then tossed the pen aside and yanked open one of the drawers in his desk. He rummaged until he found a slim leather wallet and placed it on the desk. His hand strayed to the pen where it had landed at the edge of the desk. Picking it up, he began tapping it again as he stared at the wallet.

It might help it might not, either way they had to go to Thames House. Whether MI5 knew it or not, they were harboring an alien and Torchwood had to take care of it.

**/\****/\**

Aisling opened her eyes and sat up. As she took in her surroundings, the smile faded from her face. It had just been a dream. She was still here, trapped in some alternate world and no way of knowing if or how she could get back home.

"Aisling, there's tea ready if you want some," Ruth called through the cracked-open door. Aisling hadn't "felt" Ruth's approach. It seemed her abilities were still unreliable after whatever it was she'd been through.

She made a noise of assent and climbed out of the bed, dislodging Fidget, who scampered out of the room, no doubt to be fed.

Ruth was shorter than Aisling, but the kind woman had left a skirt that might look okay and a top draped over the chair near the bed. Aisling realized she would have to find some way of going shopping. She wasn't sure how, since she had no money in this place. Ruth was kind though, she would probably help.

Aisling pulled the clothes on and studied them in the mirror as she finger-combed her hair. The style was strange, and extremely old-fashioned to Aisling's eyes, but they would suffice. She took a deep breath and headed down the hall towards the kitchen.

Ruth looked up from the toast she was buttering and smiled.

"Good morning, I hope you slept well?"

Aisling nodded as she sat down.

"I did, thank you," Aisling replied and reached for the teapot to pour herself some tea.

"I have a lot of work to do today, but um, I'll take you in with me. Harry wants Jo and Zaf to look after you today. Maybe they can take you around London."

"That would be nice."

Ruth studied the girl over the rim of her tea mug after they both fell silent and Aisling began to eat. The conversation they had had over dinner last night had left Ruth frankly astounded. A world where people had psychic gifts and used them in everyday life and in space travel no less! Ruth wasn't sure if the girl was delusional or not. She was inclined to think not, however. The strange way she'd been found, the fact they'd all heard the girl in their heads, it was hard to think the girl was lying. Ruth had asked Aisling to show her some telekinesis, but the girl had said her abilities, her Talent, Ruth could hear the implied capital "T", didn't seem to be functioning properly.

Ruth wondered what Harry's plans for the girl might be. They couldn't just keep her around. She wasn't an agent and despite the fact the girl seemed harmless enough, they had no way of dealing with someone like this. Ruth put down her tea and picked up her toast. Hadn't she heard of some sort of organization that handled things that were, unusual, she thought to herself as she ate. She was sure she'd heard whispers around GCHQ back before she transferred to MI5. Something about fire or torches or some such…she couldn't remember.

Ruth noticed that Aisling seemed to be fidgeting and realized she'd been silent too long.

"I know it's not much, but I know you don't have anything of your own, so here," Ruth began as she reached over and picked up the teapot. She put it down in front of her and then gave the handle a sharp jerk. Aisling's eyes widened in surprise as the handle popped off and Ruth extracted a small, tight roll of paper. She placed the roll on the table and put the handle back on the pot then unrolled the paper. She straightened it out as best she could and then handed it to Aisling.

"There's only about 150 quid there, it's sort of an emergency back-up fund," Ruth explained. "But you can use it to maybe get a few clothes."

Paper money! Aisling was surprised. She'd heard about paper money having been used in the past in her world, but had never really seen it. She closed her hand around the bills tightly.

"Thank you, Ruth, that's so generous. I'll find some way to pay you back."

Ruth simply smiled and nodded before standing up to clear the table.

"Look, I'll clear the table, you do whatever you need to do before we go," Aisling offered.

"Very well," Ruth agreed and went back to her room to finish getting ready while Aisling cleaned up.

"Oh, bloody hell," Ruth grumbled as they walked outside to discover it was raining. She hurriedly opened her umbrella as Aisling bounded down the path to the street.

"You'll be soaked," Ruth admonished.

"It's fine, I don't mind. I love the rain," Aisling enthused as she essayed a twirl and giggled. Ruth sighed and shook her head, but couldn't fight a small smile.

They paused to get tube tickets.

"Excuse me, do you have any change, it's not taking notes," a man asked.

"Um, hang on," Ruth said and dug into her purse. "Nearly, not quite."

Aisling stood nearby and waited her back to Ruth and the man as she watched people hurry past while she hummed to herself.

"That'll do," the man said. He turned and to start walking away as Ruth called "No, no, no," after him.

The man didn't see Aisling at first as he turned to walk away and promptly tripped over her foot.

"I'm so sorry," Aisling gasped and reached out a hand to help the man up. Ruth bustled over.

"Are you all right?" Ruth asked in a concerned tone.

"Fine," the man grunted.

"Oh, here's your change," Ruth said and pushed the money into his hand before he could rush away.

The two women watched the man nearly run into the station.

"I didn't mean to have my feet in the way," Aisling said contritely.

"Sometimes you need eyes in the back of your head," Ruth told her. "No harm done. Let's go."

They rushed down to the train just in time to hear the screams.

Aisling grabbed Ruth's arm and looked around, her eyes wide.

"What is it?" Ruth asked as she watched the color drain from Aisling's face.

"Someone's fallen in front of the train," Aisling replied in a bare whisper. She put a hand to her temple and closed her eyes to try and close out the mental chaos. Fine time for her telepathy to decide to work, she thought with disdain.

Ruth craned her neck around at Aisling's statement, but there were too many people for her to see what was going on. She looked back at Aisling and saw the girl's discomfort.

"Let's get you out of here, we'll take a taxi," Ruth said and led the girl out.

By the time they'd reached the Grid, the accident was all over the news. Ruth gestured Jo over to take charge of Aisling. She caught sight of the picture of the victim and gasped in recognition. It was the man who had asked her for change. She pulled the note out of her pocket and glanced at it before striding off in search of Harry. She gestured him to follow her into the kitchen and quickly told him what had happened that morning. She handed him the note.

Harry examined both sides of the note carefully in the sunlight streaming through the window as he and Ruth stood in the kitchen. "There's nothing on it."

"Are you sure? It has the feel of a classic drop."

"That's the trouble with spies, always looking for meaning in everything," he teased as he handed her back the note. "Are you and the girl okay?"

"Yes, I am," Ruth replied.

"Are you certain?" Harry asked his concern evident on his face.

"It's silly I know, it's just a stranger, but I can't quite get the image out of my mind. It all happened so quickly and um…god…sorry…" Ruth broke off. "The girl was far more upset than I was."

Harry put a hand on her shoulder. "Sweet tea, that's what you both need," he said and he turned to rummage in the cupboards.

"There was something in his manner," Ruth began.

"Tea bags?" Harry broke in.

"Um, second shelf down…his face was, um, I wish I could describe it…it was like he was trying to tell me something," Ruth finished uncertainly.

"He was about to kill himself. I'm not sure how much you could read from his face," Harry said in reassurance as he put the mugs down next to her.

"I know," Ruth sighed.

"Your imagination, especially after a shock like that, it could play tricks," Harry continued.

"I know," Ruth added. She broke off as Harry's mobile rang. She picked up the mugs as he turned his back to her as he answered it. She picked up the mugs as he finished speaking and snapped his phone shut.

"I would like to give the note to Malcolm, see if he can find anything."

"Fine, if you feel it's necessary," he told her and patted her shoulder again. "I'll see you later."

Ruth carried the tea into the room where Aisling sat with Jo. The girl still looked slightly shaken, but was improving. Jo was distracting the girl with talk of clothes. She handed a mug of tea to Aisling and then went to give the note to Malcolm.

Aisling took a sip of the tea Ruth gave her.

"How much will you have to shop with?" Jo asked.

Aisling dug into the pocket of the skirt and held the money out to Jo, who took it and counted it.

"You should be able to get a few nice things. We can go whenever you're ready."

Jo and Aisling looked up as Zaf appeared in the doorway.

"Harry said we can have a car," he told them with a grin and flipped the keys.

Aisling looked relieved. She didn't want to have to go down to the "tube" again. "That sounds good."

Zaf winked at her.

"I'll be at my desk when you're ready."

Aisling could feel a blush heating up her cheeks as from the corner of her eye she saw Jo raise an eyebrow. Jo reached over and patted Aisling's knee.

"Hey, I fancied Adam when I first met him," she confided in a whisper and Aisling couldn't help but giggle.

"C'mon, let's go get Zaf and have him take us to Zara. I'm sure we'll find something there you'll like."

Aisling smiled and nodded eagerly. She might as well enjoy herself while she was here, she thought as she pushed the memory of the tube station to the back of her head. Meanwhile, there was Zaf.

He was funny and sometimes very charming as he drove Jo and Aisling around, and carried their bags as they shopped. Aisling couldn't help sighing over his big brown eyes and his smile made her heart stop. She knew it was a mistake to get involved, but looking and daydreaming couldn't hurt.

Jo kept giving Aisling sidelong looks every time Zaf was more solicitous of Aisling than he was to Jo herself. It was a shame the pair seemed to be quite smitten with each other. Jo realized she would have to find a way to remind Zaf that they knew nothing about this girl, that she wasn't even fully human. He couldn't afford any sort of romantic relationship with the girl.

When they stopped for lunch, Jo was relieved when Aisling went to find a ladies' room. She sat down facing the direction Aisling would approach from and then leaned over to Zaf.

"Zaf, be careful."

Zaf looked at her in confusion.

Jo shook her head at him. "You know what I mean."

"It's just some harmless flirting. She's very pretty," he said with a shrug.

"Zaf, I can tell that you like her, and she just as obviously likes you, but you know nothing can…."

"Jo, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"I'm not doubting that Zaf, but we don't even know who she is, or anything about her."

"Harry and Adam both seem to trust her fine. We wouldn't be helping her otherwise. No doubt they know something we don't."

Jo shook her head again. "Zaf, I like her too, but I'm not going to make the mistake of fully trusting someone we don't know."

Zaf snorted and turned away to take a drink from his glass of water.

"We also don't know how long she'll be here."

"I'm not that soft. I'm hardly in love with her."

Jo opened her mouth to say something else, but noticed Aisling coming over and said "I'll have the chicken."

"I will, too," Aisling added as she dropped into the chair next to Zaf and across from Jo. Jo glanced at Zaf from the corner of her eye, but he seemed completely intent on Aisling now. Jo wondered if maybe her attempt to warn Zaf had had the opposite effect. She really should have known better. And Aisling seemed quite taken with Zaf, too. Jo sighed.

Zaf held Aisling back when they returned to the Grid. Jo gave him a hooded look from where she stood behind Aisling, but he ignored it. Jo shook her head and went inside.

"Maybe I could show you around town tonight?" he suggested.

Aisling thought about it a moment. "Okay," she agreed. "As long as Ruth hasn't already made plans for us."

"Great," Zaf said and held the door open for her to go inside.

Aisling found Ruth seated at her desk and quickly pulled a chair over to sit down.

"Um, Ruth, Zaf has asked if he can show me around a bit tonight, do you mind?"

Ruth looked up from the file she was reading.

"Well, I had made some dinner arrangements for us, but Zaf could come along if you like."

Jo had already spoken to Ruth about Zaf's infatuation and this seemed a good alternative.

Aisling smiled and nodded. She saw Ruth turn and followed the woman's gaze to see Harry standing there. She had to stop herself moving her chair at the intensity of feeling coming from Harry and Ruth. There was clearly something there, but when she and Ruth were chatting last night, Ruth hadn't mentioned any relationships. Aisling wondered if they knew how the other felt.

"How is our guest doing?" Harry asked Aisling after nodding hello to Ruth.

"Well, thank you. Jo helped me get some clothes and I saw some of the city," she told him.

Harry smiled. "Good."

An idea suddenly occurred to Aisling. "Ruth, Zaf and I are going to have dinner tonight, why don't you join us?"

Aisling focused past the mental and emotional clamor coming from Ruth and smiled winningly at Harry. Harry blinked in surprise and his smile this time was much larger.

"Thank you. I will, if Ruth doesn't mind."

"Um, no, fine," Ruth stammered. Aisling felt smug in her victory, but kept her expression bland. It was clear that although Ruth had feelings for Harry, she was avoiding acting on them. It was also clear that Harry had feelings for Ruth, but wanted very much to act on them.

"Then, I'll meet up with you here before we leave," he said before heading back to his office.

"Well, that will be nice," Aisling remarked after Harry was gone.

Ruth gave Aisling a look that Aisling returned blandly. Ruth shook her head and bent back to her file. She would have preferred not to have dinner with Harry Pearce, but it would be a small group so hopefully it wouldn't set tongues wagging. She couldn't deny that she was looking forward to spending time with Harry, though.

**/\***/\**

Aisling awoke early the next morning and grimaced. Could last night have been any more awkward? She sighed. Ruth and Harry, overly conscious of each other's company had toyed with their food in between sneaked longing glances at each other and boring, desultory conversation.

Aisling had looked forward to flirting with Zaf, but Zaf, painfully aware of propriety now that his boss was around, had been pleasant, but guarded. Aisling wanted to scream from frustration and was beyond relieved when the agonizing evening had ended and she was finally back at Ruth's house. She hadn't been sure she could keep up under the pressure of all the repressed emotions she could feel around her like a tangible presence.

She dragged herself from bed and went into the kitchen. Ruth wasn't up yet, it seemed. Aisling turned on the kettle to make tea and leaned against the counter as she waited and found herself wondering what Harry had in mind. He has asked her several innocuous questions about herself, but she wasn't fooled. He clearly had something in mind and since her Talent was so unreliable, she wasn't sure what. But her Talent not working did not affect her ability to read someone's body language and she wondered what he was planning.

Ruth quietly placed her mobile on the bedside table, wondering what Harry was planning. All he would say was that he did not want her to come in at all today. The implication being not bring Aisling in, since he knew Ruth would never leave the girl on her own. She was simply too unknown to risk leaving unattended. She heard Aisling moving around and decided to get up. Maybe they should plan some sort of day out. She wasn't sure why, but something in Harry's tone had made her feel as though she should get out of the house.

**/\***/\**

Harry put down the phone and sighed. He was grateful that Ruth seemed willing to do as she was told. He opened his desk drawer and his hand lingered over the bottle of single malt for a moment before it wrapped around his mobile. He flipped the phone open and read the brief, four word text from an unknown number.

"Calling in my favor"

Harry frowned. He knew who it was and he had an idea why the favor was being called in now, of all times. Aisling's mysterious appearance clearly hadn't gone unnoticed by them. He dropped the phone into his pocket and as if it had a will of its own, his hand moved to hover over the bottle of single malt once again.

Harry looked down at it and shrugged. Might as well. He opened the bottle, poured a measure into the glass and quickly drank it down. He then poured another, which he drank just as quickly, before placing the bottle back in the drawer and closing it.

**/\***/\**

Jack sat in the SUV and gazed up at Thames House.

"Are we going in there or not?" Gwen asked impatiently, jolting Jack from his reverie.

"I'm going in, you and Ianto are going to wait here and keep an eye out."

"What for?" she demanded in an annoyed tone.

"In case she shows up while I'm inside. If she does, you and Ianto bag and tag and get out of here."

"But how…"

"Just let me know. I can make my own way back, don't worry about me. I just want to make sure we get her out of here with as little violence as possible."

Ianto snorted.

Jack speared Ianto with a look. "The faster we get this done, the better."

"How do you know they won't just hand her over?" Ianto wanted to know.

"Just trust me," Jack sighed and slid from the vehicle. He straightened his coat and strode inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own The Tower and the Hive, Torchwood or Spooks (MI-5)**

**Chapter 3**

Harry stood up and walked out of his office to look around for Adam. He frowned when he realized Adam wasn't around and walked over to Ros.

"Where's Adam?"

"He's chasing up a lead on that train jumper. You assigned him the case," Ros replied, her tone implying that Harry obviously wasn't paying attention. Harry sighed in annoyance.

"Bad timing," he muttered as he glared at the floor. He looked up at Ros, who was watching him expectantly.

"We're about to have a visitor," he said and watched Ros' eyes narrow.

"Who might that be?" she asked softly.

"No one you know, I'm sure," he replied with a slight shake of his head. Ros made a slight humming noise that Harry took to be disagreement. He saw the slight change in her expression and realized she was attempting to fit some pieces together, but he wasn't sure what. He didn't have a chance to ask her at any rate, because at that moment he saw the expected visitor step up to the pods.

Ros saw Harry's expression change and she turned around to follow his gaze.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Ros spat softly, her words dripping with venom.

Harry had a difficult time hiding his surprise at Ros' words, but he covered it quickly as he gestured for Jack to come through. He chanced a quick glance at Ros' expression. Her face was carefully neutral, but her eyes were two chips of ice.

Jack came through the pod and swept across the room towards Harry and Ros, his coat billowing behind him. His presence caught every eye in the room and Harry groaned inwardly. He often forgot about the effect Harkness had.

Jack's face brightened with a broad, boyish smile as he neared Harry.

"Harry, how are you?"

"What do you want?" Harry asked, all business.

Jack made a face and turned to Ros.

"As I live and breathe…" Jack began, his smile growing slightly larger.

"Despite my best efforts," Ros said tightly.

Jack chuckled. "Charming as ever, I see. I come in peace, so try to curb your bloodthirsty impulses," he said and leaned over. "At least until later when we can be alone," he added with a wink.

Harry watched Ros' jaw tighten and quickly grabbed Jack's arm and steered him towards the office.

"Don't bait my team," he said to Jack as he shut the door behind them.

"I can't help it. Ros is just so…." Jack trailed off and waved his hand. "Anyway, down to business."

Jack dropped gracefully into a chair and leaned back.

"I need you to turn the alien over to me," he stated simply. Harry kept his expression impassive and moved to sit behind his desk. He laced his fingers on the desk in front of him and met Jack's gaze.

"Alien," he said, not quite a question, but not quite a statement. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

Jack leaned forward, the friendly expression falling from his face.

"You don't want to play with me, Harry," Jack warned.

"I have no intention of playing with you, Captain Harkness. As stated, I don't know what this alien is that you refer to."

"One of your agents found her on the pavement outside Thames House. I'm sure you remember that?"

Harry gazed at Jack steadily with a bland expression.

Jack smiled and huffed out a small laugh as he leaned forward. "We saw it on the CCTV footage."

"Ahhh," Harry said. "That was no alien. That was just an unfortunate young woman who had an accident. If not for that odd light that passed by, you would have seen her fall. It was quite tragic," Harry finished explaining.

Jack raised his eyebrows and shook his head at Harry, another chuckle issuing from his throat.

"You don't really expect me to believe that, do you, Pearce?" Jack asked, his tone taking on a slight edge.

Harry spread his hands. "Well, that is up to you, of course, but it is what happened."

He smiled thinly and laced his hands on his desk again.

Jack stared at Harry, watching for any crack in the façade. Harry's expression remained blank and mild as he stared back. The minutes passed. Jack swore inwardly finally and sighed loudly as he stood up.

"I still think you're lying," Jack stated. Harry shrugged and made a face of commiseration.

"I will find her, you can't hide her forever," Jack paused, put his hands on the desk and leaned forward, his forehead nearly touching Harry's. "Let's just hope no one gets hurt," Jack warned through clenched teeth.

Harry tilted his head and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Good luck in your search, Captain."

Harry lifted an arm and gestured towards the door. "I'm sure you can see yourself out."

Jack straightened up, gave Harry a final searching glance and then stormed out.

Ros' eyes followed Jack as he stalked from the Grid and then she looked in at Harry. She glanced after Jack again, then back at Harry once more before walking into Harry's office.

"What now?"

Harry shook his head and sighed. "Now, we have to decide how far we are willing to go to protect an…" he paused, uncertain of using the word. "Alien," he finally finished.

"Jack knows the game. He won't risk attempting grab Aisling right now, he knows we'll be expecting it. He'll be watching to see what we do. If we're not going to give her to them, then we need to get her out of the country before they realize what we've done."

"How do you know …" Harry began, but at the look on Ros' face he stopped. "Never mind." He really should be used to Ros always seeming to know than she should.

"I don't think they know that she is with Ruth just now. Malcolm signaled that Jack's two associates were waiting outside."

"We don't know how large his team is, Harry, this could have been a diversion."

Harry pursed his lips thoughtfully and shook his head. "I don't think so. They would have just gone and taken her from Ruth. They wouldn't have come to me first. We must get Ruth and Aisling out of the house and finding a way to get the girl out of the country and create a diversion so Torchwood doesn't see it until too late."

"I'll be the diversion," Ros immediately offered. "You and Zaf should go and take care of Ruth and Aisling."

Harry watched Ros walk out of his office and over to Malcolm, to find out where Jack and his team had gone, no doubt. Harry wondered for a moment what past Ros and Jack might have, then shook his head to put it out of his mind. He would never ask and he wasn't sure that she would answer, or that he would like the answer if she did.

He picked up his phone and called Ruth.

**/\***/\**

"Well, what happened?" Gwen immediately asked when Jack climbed back into the SUV and sped away from the front of Thames House.

"They claim she's just some girl who fell from the roof of Thames House."

"And you believed them?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"No, I don't. But she's not in the building, so we have to find where they've hidden her."

"How do you know that?" Ianto piped up from the back seat.

"Call it a hunch," Jack replied shortly as he twisted the wheel and swung sharply around a corner. He quickly whipped another corner and came to an abrupt stop in an alley.

"What are we doing?" Gwen asked as Jack flipped open the laptop.

"I dropped a tracker on someone before I left. With any luck, he'll lead us straight to the girl. Meanwhile, Ianto, I want you to scan for residual Rift energy. She's bound to have some still on her."

"I'll look for anomalous bio-signatures as well."

Jack nodded and settled back in the seat, his eyes fixed on the red dot on the screen.

Gwen looked up from her own laptop where she was coordinating scans with Ianto when she heard Jack's indrawn breath.

"He's on the move," Jack stated and started the car. He followed slowly. He didn't know what Harry was driving and didn't want to get spotted. When the dot finally came to a stop, Jack drove as close to the location as he dared and parked.

"Right, we have to move in fast on foot. Let's go."

He transferred the location to his wrist tracker and jumped out of the car, heading towards the house at a sprint with Gwen and Ianto right behind him. Jack scanned the area as they closed in on the house. The curtains were drawn, much to Jack's chagrin, so he couldn't see inside. He quickly gestured Gwen and Ianto to circle around and then approached the front door.

He knocked and waited a moment. He knocked a second time with a bit more force. When there was still no answer, Jack tried to open the door. Locked. He slammed his shoulder against the door to open it. He pulled his gun out and slipped smoothly through the doorway.

Ros whirled around with a gasp of surprise as Jack broke in.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped.

Jack ignored her and looked up at the ceiling. "C'mon, Harry, just bring her out and no one gets hurt," he called out. Ros dropped the bag she was holding and launched herself at Jack. He registered the move, and raised his arm to block her, but not quickly enough. Her booted foot hit him squarely in the abs and he stumbled back with a muffled "oof".

Ros landed and rushed at Jack, snapping her leg out to sweep at his legs. Jack cursed as he awkwardly dodged her kick and then tripped over a throw rug. Ros took advantage of his weakness and flung herself onto his back, slamming him to the floor. Jack groaned inwardly as the air rushed from his lungs. Ros pushed her forearm against the back of his neck, pinning his face to the floor and wrenched the gun from his hand and pressed it to his temple.

"I always did like being on top," she purred in his ear.

"She's not here, is she?" Jack wheezed, realizing he'd been duped.

"Caught on, have you. Really, Jack, I thought you were smarter than that. Did you really think Harry wouldn't notice the tracking device?"

"And he told you to distract me."

"Oh, no, I volunteered," Ros explained. "For old time's sake," she hissed. Ros looked up as Gwen and Ianto burst into the room and pointed their guns at Ros, who reacted by pressing the gun against hard enough against his temple to make Jack wince.

"Put them away," Jack ordered, lifting his hand from the floor and waving it at them. The pair straightened up, looked at Ros, then at Jack and slowly put their guns away.

"Where's the girl?" Gwen demanded.

"Not here," Ros replied in a condescending tone. She leaned over and patted Jack's cheek. "Jack and I were just talking over old times."

Gwen snorted and folded her arms over her chest muttering "Jack" in a disgusted tone.

Jack noticed the shift in Ros' weight as she leaned and quickly snapped his elbow up. It hit her pressure point just between her collarbone and shoulder, knocking her backwards and off balance. Jack quickly rolled, straddled and pinned Ros in one smooth movement.

She glared up at him, but didn't struggle.

"Looks like I'm on top now," he smirked.

"Don't let it go to your head," she sneered and he chuckled.

"You always were too cocky for your own good," she added.

"Don't you mean arrogant?"

She lifted an eyebrow at him and almost smiled. "I think we both know I don't," she contradicted silkily.

Ianto shifted, growing uneasy at the interplay between Jack and Ros. "Shouldn't we be finding the girl, Jack?" he asked in a sharp tone.

Gwen glanced at Ianto, then back down at Jack. "Yeah, Jack, c'mon. Let's get moving."

Jack let go of Ros' arms, snatching his gun from her hand as he moved and stood up. He holstered his gun and then lowered his hand to Ros. She hesitated, but then took it and let him help her to her feet.

"I guess we'll call it a draw," he said to her and smiled as he gave a small bow before turning to follow his team out the door.

"Watch your back," she said as he walked out the door, a small smile of triumph hovering at the corners of her mouth.

She moved to the doorway to watch the three of them leave and then pulled her phone from her pocket.

"They've gone. I'll wait here for another hour in case Jack planted a tracker on me, then I'll come back to the Grid."

She snapped the phone shut.

**/\***/\**

Jack sat in the driver's seat, seething. He should have known Harry would find the tracker. Jack thought he'd been so clever and planted it without the man catching it. He glared at the steering wheel and pretended not to hear Gwen and Ianto's broadcasting their discomfort by fidgeting while they sat in the back seat.

"Um, Jack, I've got a list here of all the MI-5 safe houses I could find. I'm sure it's not all of them, but I'm not sure even Tosh could have got round that Malcolm's safeguards."

Jack reached without looking and snatched the printed list she held out to him. He glanced over it briefly, started the SUV and drove away with a shriek of tires.

"Any luck on the scans?" Jack barked.

"No, nothing yet," Ianto replied. He was tempted to add, 'London's a big city,' but the expression on Jack's face changed his mind and he kept silent.

"Keep an eye out as I drive past these safe houses, they're sure to be hiding her at one of them."

Gwen and Ianto glanced at each other. Surely Jack didn't think Harry was that inept? Harry and his team had already outsmarted Jack once and Jack clearly had thought it wouldn't happen. Gwen was tempted to argue with Jack on just that point, but she also decided to keep silent. Jack was clearly in no mood to be corrected or lectured to.

There was something more to it, Gwen was sure, probably something to do with that encounter they had with the MI-5 agent. There was clearly history between Jack and the woman. Gwen knew what that history probably was and Jack had just as clearly never moved past whatever the woman had done to him.

She leaned back in the seat and passed the time trying to break into more of the MI-5 database.

**/\***/\**

Aisling tensed in her seat at the café and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"Are you all right?" Ruth asked.

Aisling shrugged. "I'm not sure, I feel…strange," she replied uncertainly and glanced out the plate glass window behind her. "Hunted."

Ruth's eyes widened. Despite knowing Aisling's abilities, it was still a bit hard to believe the girl could do what she had said she could.

Aisling grabbed Ruth's hand across the table. "We have to go, they're going to find me," she blurted in a rush as she jumped to her feet, dragging Ruth up with her. They hurried outside to the car and quickly got in, startling Zaf who was finishing a coded check in to the Grid.

"Drive, Zaf," Ruth ordered and Zaf started the car and quickly pulled into traffic.

"What's going on?"

"Aisling thinks Torchwood are close," she explained.

Zaf wrinkled his brow, but didn't comment.

"Where should we go?"

"Turn right!" Aisling broke in. Zaf quickly changed lanes and swung into a turn, ignoring the horn that blared at him for cutting off another driver.

"We need to talk to Harry," Ruth decided and pulled out her phone.

"No!" Aisling shrieked knocked the phone from Ruth's hand. "They'll hear you."

Ruth looked at Aisling, surprised at the girl's panic. "I don't think Torchwood are going to harm you…" Ruth began.

Aisling looked at her. "I…" she glanced at Zaf. She was sure he was listening despite the fact he seemed entirely focused on the road as he deftly wove through traffic. "Just a feeling," she finished lamely, but gave Ruth a significant look.

Ruth nodded and retrieved her phone from the floor and slipped it back into her pocket.

"We'll call Harry later."

She settled into the seat, but noted where they went as Zaf drove quickly as he dared through town, Aisling occasionally calling out for him to turn.

**/\***/\**

"Bloody hell!" Ianto slammed his hand forcefully down on the seat. "Again, there was something, but it's gone!"

Gwen leaned over to look at the screen. "This is the third time now, isn't it?"

Ianto nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him not wishing to miss it again.

"Jack, I don't think any of these hits we're getting are happening near those safe houses," Gwen said. "Whoever is with her is probably driving around town."

Jack pulled over and stopped the car abruptly. He turned and looked back at Gwen.

"How would they know where we are?" he asked her. "There aren't any tracking devices on us."

She shrugged. "Maybe it's this girl, or whatever she is."

"Or maybe the hits are weevils," Jack said, looking at Ianto.

"No, I adjusted the settings to specifically filter them out."

"Then are you able to get any idea where it's going?"

"No, it's there and gone so quickly. It's just moving randomly around as far as I can tell."

"Could they be moving out of the city?" Gwen wondered.

Ianto pondered a moment, tapping the screen where he'd seen the last three hits. "That's very possible. The last three were a bit close together and there seemed a shift towards the east each time."

"Then why don't we head east, zigzagging north and south, we're sure to pick them up again," Gwen suggested.

Jack's face brightened slightly. "And we'll be herding them instead of blindly trailing after."

Gwen nodded.

"Fine, that way," Ianto pointed. Jack grinned and turned back around. He barely glanced at the passing cars before pulling into traffic and heading the way Ianto had pointed.

**/\***/\**

Zaf's phone started ringing and Ruth reached over the seat to pick it up.

"It's Adam," she said and glanced at Aisling. "I best answer it." She glanced at Aisling again, no reaction. She quickly pressed the button.

"Yes, Adam?" Ruth listened for awhile, nodding. "Right, okay, I understand."

She put the phone away. "Adam needs my help. Stop and let me out."

"But Ruth..."

"Just pull over and let me out. I can call Adam to come pick me up. Take care of her," Ruth said with a gesture towards Aisling.

Zaf nodded and pulled over to the curb to let Ruth out.

"Stay with Zaf, Aisling, he'll watch out for you. We'll get in touch as soon as possible."

Aisling looked ready to argue, but finally nodded. She grabbed Ruth's hand and squeezed it before letting go.

Ruth slammed the door and lifted her hand as Zaf drove away. Ruth turned and moved at a fast walk down the pavement, pulling her phone from her bag as she went.

"Where should we go now?" Zaf asked.

Aisling met Zaf's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Go straight ahead as far as you can as fast as you can."

"Right," Zaf said and began to drive more quickly.

**/\***/\**

"So, what did you need?" Ruth asked Adam after he had picked her up.

"Well, you thought that the man who died was trying to tell you something, that it had the feel of a drop," Adam stated.

"Yes, Harry didn't really agree."

"I think you're right. I've come across a few things while you've been taking care of our foundling and I'm quite sure there's more going on than we realize."

"What do you want from me?"

"If he was trying to communicate with you, then the drop or whatever is going to be something only you will be able to figure out. I need your help to find it."

"Whatever I can do, then. Tell me what you know so far."

Adam explained what he'd found about the man who had given Ruth the note, that he'd worked at Cotterdam Prison and had obviously known something about a fire that had happened.

"At first, I thought the seven prisoners in the report had died, but I was wrong. We got hold of a satellite photograph that showed the seven prisoners leaving the prison before the fire. I got into the morgue and looked through Maudsley's belongings, found nothing. I took his keys and searched his house, I found what I thought was the drop, but it was only a blank disc."

"Right."

"I hope we can find something. Oliver Mace is causing a lot of trouble for Harry over this investigation, trying just about anything to shut it down. He tried to implicate you, except he couldn't come up with much since you were still outside the tube station when Maudsley jumped in front of that train. We know there's something going on, we have to prove it."

They arrived near Maudsley's house, but stayed back across the way when they noticed agents, no doubt belonging to Mace, swarming the place. Adam pulled out a small pair of binoculars to look the place over, then handed them to Ruth.

Ruth scanned the building and gasped. "Offa! Adam there's a picture of Offa in the window. I can't believe I didn't see that before."

"And he is…" Adam prompted.

Ruth began to hurriedly explain as she and Adam walked quickly down the pavement. "An obsession of mine. He was king of Mercia in the 8th century. I wrote a thesis on him about the site of his palace, now known as Wood Street. That's the real drop Maudsley left for me."

"Go around the back," Adam said as they reached the building and he discovered the door was locked. He and Ruth split up, looking all around for where the drop could be.

"It could be anywhere." Adam complained.

"No, no, no," Ruth broke in, "Not anywhere, it's here." She began to pick with her fingers at the base of a plaque on the wall. "I've got it, I've got it.," she said as she pulled a small piece of microfilm out.

"Come on," Adam put his hands on her arms and rushed her back to the car.

"There's a microfiche reader under the passenger seat," he told her as she opened the car door.

Ruth quickly inserted the film and began to read. "Okay, minutes from a meeting..."

"What's on the agenda?" Adam wanted to know.

"Hang on, hang on…top secret…eyes only…bloody hell. You were right..extradition and special interrogation measures, otherwise known as torture. Cotterdam is mentioned there's other places..." Ruth continued.

"Who's on the guest list?" Adam pressed.

"Maudsley, MI-6, Special Branch, Military Intelligence, someone from the government, oh my god, there's someone here from MI-5, too, from our section. It's a just code name, not a department. It says Section D…Fox..."

"That's impossible, someone must have put that in to stop us exposing," Adam said in disbelief.

"What do we do then?"

"I can't believe it. I'm calling Harry," Adam said in frustration as the phone rang out. "Where the hell is he?"

He started the car and began to drive. Just as he pulled away, his phone began to ring.

Adam quickly flipped open his phone. "Yes?" He paused as he listened. "You are joking."

"What's happened?" Ruth wanted to know.

"Harry's been arrested," Adam told her and snapped his phone shut.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own The Tower and the Hive, Torchwood or Spooks (MI-5)**

**Chapter 4**

"We're going to need petrol soon."

Aisling closed her eyes and focused. "Should be fine."

Zaf quickly pulled into the services station and set about filling the car.

When the car was full, he stuck his head in the window. "I'm going to get something to eat. You coming?"

"Yes, of course," Aisling replied climbed out. "I definitely need to walk around."

Zaf ordered them tea and sandwiches while Aisling wandered around. He carried the food over to Aisling and led her to a table.

"I don't suppose there is any chance you'll explain to me any of that business in the car?"

Aisling took a nervous sip of her tea. She wasn't sure she could tell Zaf the truth about herself. These Torchwood people were after her and Zaf no doubt knew what they did, so he had to know there was something about her.

But she really liked Zaf and she was sure there was something between them. He might not want anything to do with her if he thought she was some sort of freak. On the other hand, he was helping her. He didn't have to. None of them did. She still wasn't entirely sure why they were helping her.

She took another sip of her tea and met Zaf's gaze over the rim of the mug. The earnestness in his big brown eyes decided her. She put the mug down and began to speak.

"Do you think you'll get home?" Zaf finally asked after hearing a condensed version of Aisling's story.

"I don't know. I hope so," she said in a faraway voice. She leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. "I can't help wonder if maybe these Torchwood people actually want to help me."

"I suppose that could be possible. I don't know anything about them, but Harry clearly does and he's trying to keep them away from you."

"Do you think I should try to talk to them? See what they really want?"

Zaf looked at her. "I think only you can answer that."

She caught her bottom lip in her teeth and then picked up her tea and drained the cup.

"Let's go back. Talk to Harry. Perhaps he can set a meeting up for me so I can talk to Torchwood."

Zaf nodded and stood. "If you insist." He held out his hand and helped her stand. She stumbled slightly as she stood and fell against Zaf. She straightened up and her eyes caught his. She felt her heart begin to pound and her throat felt as though it were closing up. Without thinking, she pressed her lips to his. Zaf began to kiss her back, but then gently pulled away.

"We probably shouldn't do this," he said softly and stroked a finger down her cheek. Aisling felt herself blush. She couldn't speak, so she merely nodded.

"Let's go," he said and escorted her back to the car.

**/\***/\**

The screen on Ianto's laptop suddenly flared with brilliant light, made an odd humming noise, and then blew out a shower of sparks. Gwen let out a small scream and Ianto cursed as he flipped the machine away from himself and into the footwell.

"What the hell was that?" Jack demanded as he slammed on the brakes and slid the SUV to the curb.

"My laptop has blown up," Ianto complained. "One moment it was fine, I'd actually got a hit on that signal and then 'fwomp'," he ranted, trying to imitate the noise the computer had made before the shower of sparks.

"Damn!" Jack hit the steering wheel in frustration. He twisted around in the seat.

"How long will it take to fix?"

"It's fried. I'll need a new one."

Jack sighed and met Gwen and Ianto's expectant gazes.

"Fine. We're going to go and have a talk with those spooks again and this time, they will cooperate," he snapped in a disgusted tone. He pulled back out and cut a U-turn, ignoring the blare of horns around him, and headed back to Thames House.

**/\***/\**

Adam and Ruth barely managed to slip into the Grid relatively unnoticed in all the bustle. Ruth went to the back of the room and slipped into Malcolm's shadow while Adam strode over to where Ros stood, surveying the bustle with her arms folded across her chest and an angry look on her face.

Oliver Mace stood in the middle of the organized chaos with a look of smug self-satisfaction on his face, pointing and directing the people who were rushing around.

"He got here about half an hour ago, took great pleasure in informing us of Harry's arrest," she muttered to Adam under her breath.

"Has anybody heard from Harry?" Adam asked her in a low tone.

"No. Oliver Mace," Ros spat his name, "has forbidden any contact. He's gathering what he calls 'evidence' that Harry was conspiring with terrorists." Ros snorted her opinion of Mace's accusations. She glanced at Adam out of the corner of her eye. "You know something."

"The prisoners were removed before the fire, so they could disappear and be tortured. Mace is obviously covering it up and getting rid of Harry is just a bonus. We uncovered evidence that someone from Section D might have been involved."

Ros' eyes widened slightly, but she kept her mouth shut.

"If we don't all get locked up, we can look into what Ruth and I found. We'll have to keep it to ourselves for now." He paused. "And see if we can figure out a way to get Harry out of this mess."

"Well, Adam, nice of you to join us," Oliver Mace said in an oily tone. "I trust you and the team won't give me any reason to arrest the lot of you."

His lips turned up in a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Of course, not, Sir," Adam replied in a neutral tone.

"And you weren't here earlier because…."

"My nanny called. There was a problem with my son."

"I see, well…" Oliver looked around as his officers began to file out through the pods. "I don't have to tell you…" he looked around, fixing each of the team with his gaze, "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

He snapped back around to face Adam. "All of you." He flashed the same cold smile before he strolled out behind the agents.

Ros looked at Adam.

"Without Harry..."

Adam nodded.

"They're setting him up for murder," Ruth said as she left the corner where she'd been hiding. "What if...what if I put myself in the frame instead."

"What?" Adam asked in surprise. Ros raised her hand to silence Adam.

"We release the microfilm. Say that I'm Fox. Say that Harry was just protecting me his..friend...lover whatever you like. They let Harry go."

"It won't be that simple," Adam told her.

"Oliver Mace is on a witch hunt," Ros put in. "He's never going to fall for it. And Harry will never forgive you going to prison for him."

"I'll have to take that chance."

"Maybe we can help," a voice spoke from behind them. "We don't like that slimeball of a JIC chairman Oliver Mace any more than you do. Besides, we can make a trade. We get you Harry, you give us the girl."

They turned around to see Jack, Gwen and Ianto standing behind them.

**/\***/\**

"How do you propose to help us? We already have a plan," Adam challenged.

"For one thing, your plan requires one of you take Harry's place. We should make it look as though MI-5's involvement was faked, perhaps that Oliver Mace was setting you up," he glanced at Ianto who nodded.

Ros barked a laugh. "How exactly are you going to manage that?"

"Our toys are better than yours," Jack said to her in a smarmy tone. Ros rolled her eyes.

"We need to fake a photograph of Mace meeting whoever you want the fake agent to be...perhaps Harry since he's already a suspect?" Jack suggested. "But we need it to be just bad enough to show that it's fake."

"So it looks like Mace is trying to set Harry up," Malcolm spoke up.

"Yes. Do you have anything else?" Jack asked.

Ruth looked at the others. "Well, we have this piece of microfilm."

"Ianto," Jack said and gestured. Ianto gave Jack a look, but walked over to Ruth.

"May I see it?"

Ruth nodded and handed him the small square of film. Ianto held it up to the light and squinted at it, then brought it close to his face and scrutinized it closely. Finally, he lowered the film and looked at the others who were watching him expectantly.

"I can alter it, no problem. Anyone will think Mace had someone create a fake piece of microfilm for him."

"What about the others who were involved?" Ruth asked quietly. "And the prisoners?"

"They'll be easy enough to find and get released. As for the rest, you know what Mace is like, he'll make sure he finds some way to bring them down with him," Gwen said as she opened her laptop.

"And we end up being the heroes who uncovered it all," Adam stated.

"I'll get started," said Ianto. "I could use your help, Malcolm."

"Hold on, no one starts anything just yet. I believe the deal was, we help you, and you help us."

"No, you aren't laying a finger on her," Ruth said in a deadly quiet voice.

Jack moved in front of Ruth and looked down at her. "Then we don't help and somebody goes down."

"I don't care. I've already said I'm willing to take Harry's place. You butchers aren't getting your hands on her," Ruth snapped as she pushed at Jack's chest with her forefinger.

"We aren't going to hurt her," Jack argued through clenched teeth.

"Oh, please," Ros snorted. Jack rounded on her.

"She doesn't belong here. She needs to go back where she came from. We can do that."

Ros folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Jack as she shook her head. "I'm not buying it."

"How dare you judge us when you don't even know us," Gwen countered, getting in Ros' face.

"You're a group who thinks you're above the law, above everything, it's inevitable."

"We have saved lives; we have saved this planet…" Gwen began, her voice going shrill. "Arrgghhh, ungrateful."

She turned and stalked away from Ros to avoid punching the woman in the face.

Suddenly, tempers flared and Jack, Gwen, Ianto, Adam, Ruth and Ros were embroiled in a full blown screaming match, complete with waving arms and pointing fingers.

Jo and Malcolm looked at each other and backed away from the raging storm that had swept up the others and watched.

"Stop," a voice said. The word was barely audible, but resonated in the heads of the arguers. Silence filled the room.

"I won't be the cause of all this fighting. I won't have someone hurt on my behalf," Aisling said in a soft voice.

Jack guiltily lowered the fist he'd been lifting to punch Adam with.

Jo walked over to Zaf, who had an odd look about him. "We thought you were hours away."

"We were."

"How did you get back so fast then?"

"You don't want to know," he replied and Jo noticed he looked slightly wild-eyed. He clearly didn't want to say anymore about it, so she didn't push it.

"Where is Harry?" Aisling asked. "Ahhh, I see. You must help them," she told Jack. "I will go with you, after." She paused as he was nodding acknowledgement of her words. "Can you really send me home?"

Jack's eyes widened, but he quickly covered his surprise. "What are you, some kind of telepath?" he asked, half joking.

"I am the best kind of telepath, I am a Prime," she replied, drawing an air of authority around herself that made him nearly salute despite the fact she stood there in baggy jeans and a t-shirt.

"You could help us with Mace," Adam broke in as he put a hand on Aisling's shoulder. "You could help us get Harry out."

"I don't see how I could," Aisling said, her confusion evident.

"You could convince Mace to turn himself in and clear Harry's name," Gwen put in.

"Yes," Adam agreed.

Aisling looked at them. It was very near a violation of her ethics, to use her telepathy in such a way. But she wasn't at home. She was in a strange world, on her own. She wasn't even sure she could get home. They had helped her, an alien stranger they had no real reason to help. Harry had helped her. Torchwood would of course assist in this plan to save Harry, but if she helped, it might be less messy and would guarantee that Harry's name and his team would be cleared of any suspicion.

"Very well, I agree to try. You must understand that my abilities have been…unreliable. I cannot guarantee that I will be successful."

"Understood," Adam said. "And thank you." He turned to the assembled teams. "Get to work making us some evidence people. I'll call Mace and tell him we found something."

About an hour later, Oliver Mace strolled through the pods. Gwen and Ianto ducked behind computer monitors on desks in the back while Jack ducked out of sight down the hall, pulling Aisling along with him.

"Adam," Mace greeted as he approached. "What is it that you've found exactly?"

Adam proceeded to show Mace the photo and the microfilm.

"What is this actually supposed to prove?" Mace sneered.

"That you set Harry up. You had those men removed from Cotterdam and then you burned it down so they would be thought dead so you could torture them."

"Preposterous!" Oliver snorted. "This isn't any sort of proof." He smiled a small, smug smile at Adam. "It was Harry, conspiring with terrorists. He's going to be locked up for a very long time." Mace drew the last three words out to make his point.

"I really think you should lying. Confess. Admit what you did, and that Harry is innocent."

Mace began to laugh."You are as deluded as Harry."

Aisling peered around the corner and studied Oliver Mace for a moment. Then she leaned back out of sight and closed her eyes.

"Good luck," Jack whispered.

Aisling focused and concentrated, willing Oliver Mace to change his mind, to confess and reveal the entire plot surrounding Cotterdam.

"Confess," she muttered under her breath.

Oliver's expression suddenly changed. Adam glanced over at Ros who moved to stand next to Adam.

"Did you have something to say, Oliver?" Ros pressed gently, her voice soft and encouraging.

"I..." Mace broke off and looked helplessly at Ros. "What's...I...it was me, it...it was me. I engineered the whole thing, with the help of some others," he blurted. "Always hiding behind their rights, getting away with violent acts of terrorism. It's time to put an end to it!"

He looked around at everyone, his eyes wide and slightly wild. "It must STOP!" he pounded on a nearby desk for emphasis and then turned on his heel and stormed out.

"Do you think it worked?" Ruth asked.

"He's in a car now, on his way. He's going to tell everything," Aisling told them. She rubbed her head and quickly sat down.

Zaf hurried to her side and took her hand.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. It was just harder than I thought it would be."

"Here, drink this, it should help," Ianto said as he placed a bottle of juice on the table.

"Thank you," she said.

"We've done what we agreed to do, we should go," Jack said.

Aisling looked up at him. "I'd like to stay until Harry gets back. I want to thank him for helping me. I owe all of you a great debt of gratitude," she said as she looked at each member of Harry's team, meeting their gaze and giving them each a small nod.

"It's the least we could do," Adam said.

"If we're going to stay here, we should go get something to eat. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving," Ianto remarked.

"I'll go with you," Jo offered. "No telling how long until Harry gets back."

Ianto glanced at Gwen and gestured, she gave a small shake of her head and turned back to her laptop monitor. Ianto shrugged and walked out with Jo.

Ruth sat down next to Aisling.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done."

Aisling lifted her head and looked into Ruth's eyes. "I know," she said softly. "I also know that you should be together," Aisling didn't have to say who she meant.

Ruth looked down and began to nervously twine her fingers together. "But the gossip," she said and glanced up.

Aisling shook her head. "They just like seeing the pair of you happy. Take a chance, Ruth, you deserve it."

Ruth gave Aisling a small smile. "I'll think about it."

"Think hard," Aisling teased.

"I found them," Gwen announced. Ros and Adam turned to look at her. "The prisoners, they're in Egypt. Oh, and look at this..." she said and slid the laptop around so everyone could see. There was Oliver Mace on live television, telling all and sundry about his master plan. "He looks a bit crazed now, doesn't he?"

Aisling blanched and turned to Zaf. "Maybe I pushed him too hard."

Zaf shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure he'll calm down once he's locked up," he reassured.

Ianto and Jo returned a short while later with pizzas and everyone settled down to eat and wait for Harry.

Aisling caught Jack staring at her yet again. She stood up and walked over to where he sat at a desk away from the others. She leaned her long frame on the desk.

"So, what do you plan to do with me?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

She sighed. "You can't send me home, can you," she said, a statement rather than a question.

"I'm not entirely sure we can, no," he admitted.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Not if we don't have to."

She grimaced at the brutally honest answer, but she had to appreciate it. She nodded.

"You could be useful, I suppose. We could...make you part of the team."

She furrowed her brow in suspicion and looked at him. "Are you serious?"

He shrugged. "Well, I really don't think you're a threat. Clearly, you're disturbed by even the tiniest bend of your rules, so I think you're probably okay. I don't want to kill you and I'd rather not have to lock you up. Besides, with your...abilities...you wouldn't stay locked up for long if you wanted to go."

She couldn't help the small laugh at his comment. He smiled.

"So, if we can't send you home, you could become a member of Torchwood."

"Couldn't I stay here and work for them?" she asked with a gesture at agents, but her eyes went immediately to Zaf before she quickly looked back at Jack. He noticed the direction of her gaze.

"It would be tough," he told her. "They're subject to considerably more scrutiny than my team."

She considered what he said, but her gaze made it's way back to Zaf.

Jack put a hand on her arm. "You could visit him, you know. Cardiff isn't _that _far from London."

Aisling's head swiveled back to focus her attention on Jack, but she could feel herself blushing. She had just opened her mouth to say something when another voice cut through the room.

"Doesn't anyone bloody work here?" Harry demanded to know.

"Good to have you back," Adam stated and shook Harry's hand.

"Good to be back. Seems Oliver admitted to everything," Harry remarked wryly.

"Harry," Ruth said simply with a small smile.

"Ruth," Harry said. They stood there a moment, unable to tear their eyes away from each other. Suddenly, Ruth stepped forward, grabbed Harry's face in her hands and kissed him soundly.

"Welcome back," she said when she let him go. She could see from the corner of her eyes everyone around her hiding smiles and she blushed.

"Err...thank you," Harry said breathlessly, staring at her in surprise. "Uhh, right," he began, trying to recover his composure.

Aisling approached him. "Thank you for your help. I'm going to leave with Torchwood. They've promised to try to send me back where I came from," she told him.

"Of course," he said and gave her a look of concern. "You're sure you'll be all right?"

"I think so, yes."

"Good," he said. He looked away from Aisling and over at Jack. He narrowed his eyes and his expression said 'you hurt her and you'll be sorry.' Jack pursed his lips and nodded to say 'understood.'

"If you need anything, you know where we are."

"Thank you."

He raised his hands and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Take care."

"I will."

Zaf suddenly bounded up behind her.

"I'm going, too," he announced.

Harry's eyebrows went up and he shot Jack a questioning glance.

Jack shook his head, his expression one of confusion and he raised his hands as he shrugged."I don't know," he mouthed.

Harry turned back to Zaf. "Is that wise?"

"I just...it sounds...interesting," he finished lamely. Ros and Gwen gave identical snorts and Zafar's face darkened in a blush.

"Right," Harry said, drawing out he word to show he knew exactly what about Torchwood Zaf found so interesting.

"I don't have any objections," Jack said, finally coming to Zaf's defense as he walked over to where Harry and Zaf stood.

"Zafar Younis is a good agent, they don't just grow on trees," Harry protested. "I can't have you coming in here and headhunting my team."

"Ah, ah," Jack said, lifting his finger and shaking it at Harry. "He volunteered, I didn't ask."

"Same thing."

"Not at all. I didn't even give him the slightest bit of encouragement."

"Didn't you?" Harry questioned with a gesture towards Aisling.

"Now that's not fair and also not my fault," Jack countered as the two men walked towards Harry's office.

"They'll be bickering all night," Ros remarked sourly and turned on her heel to leave.

Adam walked over to Zaf. "You know Harry will let you go."

"I know. I'll miss you guys."

"I'm sure we'll run into each other again," Adam remarked. He clapped Zaf on the shoulder.

"I guess I should go pack," he mused. "Oh, my flat," he suddenly realized.

"We'll take care of it," Adam assured and waved Zaf away.

"Where will I..." Zaf began.

"We'll take care of it," Gwen said in the same tone Adam had used.

"Great, thanks," he said and left.

"Do you have anything you need to pack?" Gwen asked Aisling.

"I have a few things at Ruth's house. Just a little bit of clothing, nothing much. I arrived with nothing at all so..."

"Well, let's go pack your things then, and we'll call Zaf and go pick him up and then head off to Cardiff, yeah?"

"Okay."Aisling looked to Ruth for confirmation. Ruth nodded.

"I'll get my coat and keys."

"Ianto, are you..." Gwen began.

Ianto snapped his hand into the air. "I'll wait for Jack," he snapped.

"Please yourself," Gwen said. "Sheesh."

Once at Ruth's, Aisling folded the few clothes she had and put them neatly into a small bag Ruth loaned her along with the toiletries she'd acquired.

"Do come back and see me," Ruth instructed.

"I will, as soon as I can."

"And I do hope you and Zaf can be happy," Ruth added.

"Me too. Pretty soon, I may not even want to go home."

"But if they figure out a way?"

Aisling shrugged and looked out the window, settling her gaze on the moon.

"I don't know. I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it," she replied and smiled.

The End...?


End file.
